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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Cain and Abel:
The biblical figures of Cain and Abel are a motif in the play. Bolingbroke first alludes to the biblical figure of Abel in his condemnation of Mowbray, stating:
And consequently, like a traitor coward,
Sluiced out his innocent soul through streams of
blood,
Which blood, like sacrificing Abel’s, cries
Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth
To me for justice and rough chastisement.
Cain murders his brother Abel in the first instance of homicide described in the Bible. Cain, then, was strongly associated with treachery and betrayal, and Bolingbroke weaponizes this association in comparing Mowbray to Cain. Just as God, in the Bible, punishes Cain for his transgression, so too does the Duke of Gloucester’s blood cry out for vengeance.
The figures of Cain and Abel are again alluded to by Bolingbroke later in the play, establishing an important motif. In the play’s final scene, Bolingbroke, now referred to as King Henry IV, alludes to Cain while exiling Sir Piers Exton for the murder of the former King, Richard II:
With Cain go wander through shades of night,
And never show thy head by day nor light.
In the Bible, Cain’s punishment for murdering his brother and then lying about it to God is permanent exile. He is left to wander the Earth indefinitely and is unable to stop and set up permanent residence anywhere. Bolingbroke imputes Exton with a gravely immoral action in comparing him to Cain, and uses this comparison to justify and explain his decision to exile Exton.
Act 5, Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Cain and Abel:
The biblical figures of Cain and Abel are a motif in the play. Bolingbroke first alludes to the biblical figure of Abel in his condemnation of Mowbray, stating:
And consequently, like a traitor coward,
Sluiced out his innocent soul through streams of
blood,
Which blood, like sacrificing Abel’s, cries
Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth
To me for justice and rough chastisement.
Cain murders his brother Abel in the first instance of homicide described in the Bible. Cain, then, was strongly associated with treachery and betrayal, and Bolingbroke weaponizes this association in comparing Mowbray to Cain. Just as God, in the Bible, punishes Cain for his transgression, so too does the Duke of Gloucester’s blood cry out for vengeance.
The figures of Cain and Abel are again alluded to by Bolingbroke later in the play, establishing an important motif. In the play’s final scene, Bolingbroke, now referred to as King Henry IV, alludes to Cain while exiling Sir Piers Exton for the murder of the former King, Richard II:
With Cain go wander through shades of night,
And never show thy head by day nor light.
In the Bible, Cain’s punishment for murdering his brother and then lying about it to God is permanent exile. He is left to wander the Earth indefinitely and is unable to stop and set up permanent residence anywhere. Bolingbroke imputes Exton with a gravely immoral action in comparing him to Cain, and uses this comparison to justify and explain his decision to exile Exton.
